Like nothing happened.
Like I can’t still feel his mouth against mine every time I breathe.
I tighten my grip on my medical bag and focus on the trail ahead.
Loose gravel.
Sharp drop to the left.
Rock wall to the right.
Simple.
Manageable.
Unlike the mess currently happening inside my chest.
Russ stays behind me.
Close enough that I feel him more than hear him.
The crunch of his boots.
The heat of him when the trail narrows.
The constant awareness that if I slipped—
He’d catch me.
Again.
“Careful.”
His voice brushes the back of my neck low and rough.
Too close.
“I’m fine,” I whisper automatically.
Silence answers me this time.
Then fingers briefly touch the back of my arm.
Quick.
Steadying.
Gone before I can react.
Somehow that’s worse.
Because my body notices the loss immediately.
God.
This is a disaster.
We climb higher along the ridge while the canyon slowly opens below us.
